The dictionary people : the unsung heroes who created the Oxford English dictionary Cover Image

Book

The dictionary people : the unsung heroes who created the Oxford English dictionary / Sarah Ogilvie.

Summary:

For the first time ever, this thrilling literary detective story, doubling as a celebration of words, language, people and one of mankind's greatest achievements, unravels the mystery of the contributors from around the world who, for over seventy years, helped to codify the way we read, write and speak.

Record details

ISBN: 9780593536407
Physical Description: x, 370 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First American edition.
Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2023.

Content descriptions

General Note:	"This is Borzoi book"--Title page verso. "Originally published in hardcover in Great Britain by Chatto & Windus, an imprint of Vintage, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd, London, in 2023"--Title page verso.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-352) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction: Discovering the dictionary people -- A for archaeologist -- B for best contributor -- C for cannibal -- D for dictionary word nerds -- E for Europeans -- F for families -- G for glossotypists -- H for hopeless contributors -- I for inventors -- J for junkie -- K for kleptomaniac -- L for lunatics -- M for murderers -- N for New Zealanders -- O for outsiders -- P for pornographer -- Q for queers -- R for rain collectors -- S for suffragists -- T for tramps, the Sunday -- U for USA -- V for vicars (and vegetarians) -- W for women -- X for xenomaniacs (and esperantists) -- Y for Yonge, Charlotte, and other novelists -- Z for zealots.